


Been Here Along

by Caitstar11, markhyuckfest



Category: NCT (Band), SM Rookies
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 04:22:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17155232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caitstar11/pseuds/Caitstar11, https://archiveofourown.org/users/markhyuckfest/pseuds/markhyuckfest
Summary: Prompt number:#MH104Side Pairings (if any):NoneWarnings:Mentions of underage drinkingSummary:The one where Mark is utterly and irrevocably in love with his extremely attractive and incredibly popular neighbour/best friend forever, Donghyuck. Too bad for Mark though since Donghyuck has absolutely no idea and instead seems to have made it his life mission to date every single boy from their school (except for him).





	Been Here Along

**Author's Note:**

> **Author Note:** A Taylor Swift 'You belong With Me' AU! I hope the prompter (and anyone else reading) likes it!!

When Mark Lee was eight years old, he came home after school one day only to find a large truck parked in his driveway. He was confused and immediately ran into the house to tell his mother about it.

When he enters through the front door he’s shocked when he sees that most of their usual furniture was now missing and in their places stood piles of boxes.

“Mommy! Help! All of our stuff is gone!” Mark calls out frantically.

At the sound of his screams, Mark’s mother appears from the kitchen while balancing a dusty brown box that eerily resembled the others.

“Oh Mark, you’re home. Please do me a favour, go to your room and choose all of your favourite toys and place them _neatly_ in a row on the floor. Mommy’s going to come up there soon to help you put them in a box, okay?”

“Why are we putting our things into boxes?”

Mark’s mother sighs. “Sweetie, we talked about this. Your dad and I got transferred to the American branch of our company so we’re moving remember?”

Mark immediately pouts. “I thought you were joking.”

“Why would we joke about something that serious?” Mark’s mother asks incredulously while dusting her hands off.

“The same way you joked about us going to Disneyland if I ate all my carrots that one time.” Mark grumbles while stubbornly plopping himself onto one of the boxes.

Mark’s mother chuckles and moves forward to ruffle his hair. “Well honey, did you know that California has one of the famous Disneyland’s in the world? Once we move, we can go there _all the time_.”

Mark’s ears instantaneously perk up. “Really?”

Mark’s mother nods her head affirmatively. “But we can’t go until we finish packing. I’ve already sorted out all of your clothes so I just need you to go pack all of your Superman dolls. I know how important they are to you.”

“They’re _Spiderman action figures_ , Mommy. Not Superman dolls, gross.” Mark shudders as he hops back onto the floor to make his way up to his bedroom.

“Right, right. Just go upstairs and make sure everything is ready by the time I get up there.”

By the end of the week, Mark is on a plane with his parents and brother departing his childhood home in Vancouver to the bright and sunny land known as California. As the plane lifts up into the sky Mark suddenly realises the severity of his situation. He’s leaving behind the only home he’s ever known to move to a foreign country where he wouldn’t know anyone. What if he doesn’t make friends? Or worse, what if he doesn’t make friends who like Spiderman? Mark can’t possibly deal with that outcome.

After a flight that goes by much faster than Mark initially anticipated - possibly due to the fact that he had fallen asleep shortly after the plane took off - Mark and his family were now in their new home unpacking some of the boxes that had arrived before them.

The house itself was bigger than their home in Vancouver but for some reason, as noticed by Mark’s father, all of the houses on their street were freakishly close together.

Since he was older Mark’s brother got first choice for the room he wanted and instantly chose the bigger one which left Mark with the spare room that was a little bit further away from the other two bedrooms.

Mark decides that the room isn’t so bad because there’s enough wall space for him to hang his Spiderman posters and not to mention there was a sturdy looking built-in shelf that looked like it was going to be perfect for displaying his action figures.

Mark supposes the only weird part about his room was the window. It was a large glass window that was nearly half the height of the room and directly faced into what appeared to be someone’s bedroom. Judging from the brightly coloured walls as well as the plethora of toys scattered around the floor, Mark could only assume that the bedroom belonged to a fellow child.

He peers through the glass pane to see if he could guess what kind of neighbour he had and gasps out loud when he notices something that looked familiar. Is it..? Yes, it is! A Spiderman poster that hung right above a wooden dresser. Without even thinking about Mark bangs his hand against the window and starts to squeal excitedly.

Suddenly, a head of chestnut hair appears by the window. Mark feels his cheeks flush as he watches a young boy with golden-coloured skin, who looked to be around his age, stare at him in confusion. Mark immediately feels the urge to run when he notices the boy deftly opening his window but instead remains frozen in his position. When the boy eventually completes his task he makes a gesture to tell Mark to do the same. Mark gulps and fumbles with the window for a few minutes before finally stretching it open.

“Hey.” The boy calls, placing his elbows onto the window ledge.

Mark swallows nervously and fiddles with his glasses. It’s the middle of summer and the sun is shining directly into his eyes but somehow Mark finds the boy’s mischievous grin to be even more blinding.

“Hi.”

“Did you guys just move in?”

Mark nods his head meekly. “M-my name is Mark Lee.”

“Oh hey we’re twins! My name is Lee Donghyuck.”

“T-that’s pretty cool. Hey, do you like Spiderman?”

Donghyuck squints his eyes suspiciously. “How do you know that?”

Mark silently points a shaky finger to the poster behind Donghyuck causing Donghyuck to look back and chortle awkwardly. “Right. I almost forgot about that. Yeah, I like Spiderman. And Iron Man and Batman. But not Superman, ugh.”

Mark squeals again and claps his hands in excitement. “I hate Superman too! He’s so lame and boring compared to everyone else!”

“Right?” Donghyuck agrees cheerfully, eyes twinkling.

Mark takes a deep breath to try and calm himself down. He couldn’t even believe himself, it wasn’t like him to act this excited around a stranger. “Sorry if seem overly enthusiastic. It’s just everyone back home in Canada used to talk about him _nonstop_ and it was really annoying. I’m so glad I finally met someone who likes the same superheroes as me.”

“Wow, you’re from Canada? That’s really far away. You probably haven’t made many friends yet.” Donghyuck says with awe in his voice.

Mark shakes his head. “Nope. You’re actually the first person I met since moving here.”

“Really? Well in that case I guess I have no choice but to be your friend from now on.”

Mark giggles. “We live so close to each other I think it would be weird if we didn’t become friends.”

Donghyuck grins. “That’s true. Oh and Mark in the future you don’t have to bang on your window so loudly to get my attention. You’ll probably break it that way. Our rooms are so close you could just call out my name and I’d be here in a second.”

“Y-you sure? I wouldn’t want to bother you.” Mark asks shyly, gazing down at the floor.

“Of course! Be brave, Mark Lee! You can always believe in me, I promise. I’ll never let you down.” Donghyuck replies while proudly banging his chest.

Mark suddenly hears his mother’s voice calling his name. “Oh, my mom’s calling me now so I have to go. It was nice to meet you Donghyuck and, um, I hope we can be good friends for a long time.”

“You won’t regret it.” Donghyuck quips with a wink.

Later that evening, sitting on the floor with his family because most of their furniture had to arrive, Mark decides to inform his mother about his new enthralling friend.

“Mommy, I met a boy today. He lives next door to us and his room is right across from mine.” Mark eagerly says through mouthfuls of Chinese food.

“Donghyuck? I met his mother earlier. She says that Donghyuck is a year younger than you and that you two will be going to the same school. Isn’t it exciting to know that you already have a friend there?”

“Yup!” Mark says while happily slurping up some noodles. Mark had made his fair share of friends in his short life but none had ever made him as excited as Donghyuck. For some reason he just wanted to hurry up with his food and run upstairs to see if Donghyuck was in his room again.  
Mark doesn’t quite understand what this feeling in his chest is but it feels really good and he would do anything to make sure it never stopped.

**8 years later**

It’s a chilly Tuesday evening and Mark is currently in his room, reorganising his comic book collection. An incomplete science assignment sits in his backpack, waiting to be dealt with, but Mark knows that that would simply add on to his stress and right now he needs to be calm. Whenever Mark was feeling anxious the only thing that could relax him was sorting through his comic book collection.

That and being around Donghyuck.

But seeing as how Donghyuck is currently the reason behind his fidgety mood, comic books it is.

Mark sighs and glances at the Deadpool themed watch on his wrist. The time read 8pm which meant that Donghyuck should be getting back any minute now. As if on cue Mark suddenly hears the sound of something lightly hitting and then sliding down his window.

He walks over and sees his best friend Donghyuck impatiently tapping his fingers on the window sill, clearly waiting for him.

“What took you so long?” Donghyuck complains as soon as Mark finishes opening his window.

“What are you talking about? I was here as soon as you threw that piece of scrunched up paper at my window, which by the way I asked you to stop doing. My dad’s been yelling at me because he thinks I’m some sort of scumbag who just throws his trash out the window. Can’t you just learn to, oh I don’t know, text me? Like a normal person?”

“What the purpose of our bedrooms being so close if we can’t chat like this?” Donghyuck retorts while indignantly flipping his hair back.

Mark feels his face heating up and decides to concede like he always did whenever it came to Donghyuck. “Whatever. So, um, how was your big date?”

“I thought you’d never ask. It was _amazing_. Jeno is so cool, like he paid for our movie tickets and he held my hand during the scary part of the movie even though I was doing my best to seem like I wasn’t scared at all. I mean if I had to nit-pick I will say that he’s not really that funny but at least his face makes up for it. And besides you can’t have two funny people in a relationship, right?”

Mark swallows uncomfortably as his feels something painful settle in his chest. “So you’re saying that the two of you are in a relationship now?”

Donghyuck taps his chin and looks up at the stars. “I’m not sure but he did ask me to go out with him again on Friday. Between you and me I think that if he asks me to be his boyfriend, I’ll say yes.”

“Wow.” Mark breathes out. “Your very first boyfriend. That’s pretty exciting.”

Donghyuck nods his head enthusiastically. “It is. Jeno’s a really great guy and he’s like the most attractive boy in our school. I can’t believe he actually went out with someone like _me_ tonight.”

“I can.” Mark mumbles softly.

Donghyuck doesn’t seem to hear and continues to ramble on about Jeno and his rock hard abs for the next twenty minutes. Mark tries his best to stay interested but even he had a limit when it came to Donghyuck’s babbling.

“Hyuck, I’m really tired now and I’ve still got to complete my homework so I’ll just see you tomorrow on our way to school, okay?”

Donghyuck blinks as he suddenly realises something. “Oh my god, Mark, I’m so sorry. I’ve been going on about Jeno this whole time, of _course_ you’re getting annoyed. Okay, from now on if I seem like I’m talking too much about boys will you promise me that you’ll stop me?”

“Um. Sure.” Mark says even though he knows he won’t.

Donghyuck beams. “Great! Also don’t forget that you’re my number one, okay? Relationships come and go but friendships are forever! And besides I’m sure it won’t be long before you find yourself a girlfriend who’s just as geeky as you and then we could double date! How awesome would that be?”

“Pretty awesome. Night, Donghyuck.” Mark replies dejectedly, wanting to the conversation to end so that he could return to his bed to wallow.

“Night!” Donghyuck echoes while blowing Mark a playful kiss.

Mark gives a small smile as Donghyuck waves energetically from his window and shuts his curtains. _Girlfriend_ , he thinks mockingly. For some reason Mark could never find it in himself to confess to Donghyuck that he liked boys. Or rather specifically, one boy. A boy who wasn’t afraid to wear make-up to school. A boy who could make Mark laugh like he’d never laughed before just by saying one word. A boy who, despite the fact was arguably one of the most popular at their school thanks to his outgoing personality, never went a day without reminding the world that he and Mark were best friends.

A boy who was the actual human embodiment of the sun.

No matter how hard Mark tried to get over him he could literally feel himself falling _more_ in love with Donghyuck with each passing day. It sucked and deep down he would have done anything to be more than just best friends with Donghyuck but the thing that held him back was the fear of losing him forever.

Over the years, Donghyuck had never really given Mark the impression that he saw him as anything more than a friend. Sure he loved showering Mark with physical affection and yeah, they spent an almost unreasonable amount of time together but they’d been doing that since the time they were little kids so there was no reason to look any further into that.

Mark figured that it was better to have Donghyuck in his life as a friend than to risk it for the slightest chance that Donghyuck would date him. It was the only choice he had because Mark couldn’t bear the thought of Donghyuck rejecting him and being forced to live in a world without his best friend.

That being said - choosing to be Donghyuck’s friend did mean that he had to shut his mouth and watch painfully from the side-lines as the only boy he’ll probably ever love dated other people.

The following morning when Mark makes his way over to Donghyuck’s house so that they can walk to school together as usual but to his surprise he sees somebody already waiting there, mindlessly scrolling through, what from this distance, looked like Instagram on their phone.

“J-Jeno Lee?” Mark stutters. He cursed himself for being such an awkward mess around strangers.

Jeno looks up at the sound of his name being called and stares curiously at Mark. “Uhh. I know you, you’re in the tenth grade right?”

Mark sheepishly nods his head. “My name is Mark Lee.”

Jeno’s face lights up in recognition. “That’s right! You’re Donghyuck’s best friend! That’s why you seem so familiar, I always see the two of hanging out at lunchtime. I didn’t know you guys were neighbours although that does explain how you two know each other. It’s pretty unusual for people from different grades to be that close. ”

Mark shyly scratches his head. “Yeah, Donghyuck was the first person I met when I moved here from Canada. We’ve been best friends for about eight years now.”

“Well, shit. I guess that means that I’ve got to make a pretty good impression on you, right? I like to think that I’m a pretty good guy haha. Oh and just so you know I’ve had my eye on Donghyuck for a while now and I think he’s really special. I’ve been thinking that I might even ask him to be my boyfriend.”

“Oh, wow. That sounds serious.”

Jeno nods his head enthusiastically. “Hey, did he say anything about me by any chance? I don’t want to be making a fool of myself here.

”This is his chance. To end this fling between Jeno and Donghyuck for good. All he has to say is that Donghyuck is uninterested. Then Jeno would back off and Donghyuck wouldn’t know why and he would get angry and never date anyone ever again.

But as much as Mark wanted to keep Donghyuck all to himself he knew that wasn’t fair to Jeno and more importantly, to Donghyuck. Ultimately Mark could never intentionally deprive his own personal ray of sunshine of happiness - no matter how much it killed him.

“He was excited. I think he’s really into you, he could barely stop talking about you last night.” Mark answered honestly.

Jeno pumps his fist into the air and then lightly punches Mark on the shoulder. “Thanks, man. I’m definitely going to ask him to be exclusive then. I mean it was one date but I’ve never met someone like him before you know?”

“Yeah, when you meet a guy like Donghyuck you should never let him go.” Mark comments wistfully with a faraway look in his eyes.

Jeno gives Mark a suspicious look but before he could say anything they’re both distracted by the sound of a front door slamming.

“Jeno?!” Donghyuck exclaims, running down his driveway towards them.

Jeno turns away from Mark and gives Donghyuck his full attention. “Hey, surprised?”

Donghyuck wraps his arms around the dark-haired boy. “Hell yeah. What are you doing here?”

“Thought I’d walk you to school. I didn’t know you already had a companion though.” Jeno answers while vaguely pointing his arm towards Mark.

Donghyuck chuckles. “Yeah, Mark’s my best friend and neighbour. We’ve been walking to school together since forever. It’s kind of our routine.”

“Well the thing about routines is that they’re meant to be broken. What do you think about a little change? How about I walk you to school today?” Jeno asks, slipping his arm around Donghyuck’s shoulder.

Donghyuck nervously glances over at Mark. “Um, instead of coming up with a new routine why don’t we just upgrade the existing one? All three of us should just walk to class together. Then no one gets left out.”

Mark shifts his weight around uncomfortably as he realised the awkwardness of their situation. “You know what Donghyuck? I just remembered that I left my favourite pen in my bedroom. You know I can’t go to school without that lucky pen of mine. Why don’t you and Jeno start walking while I go up and fetch it?

Donghyuck furrowed his eyebrows in worry. “You sure? This is the first time I’ve ever heard of a lucky pen. If it’s really that important to you though we’ll wait.”

“No, you don’t have to wait. You’ll just end up being late.”

“Mark…” Donghyuck stares at Mark pleadingly.

“It’s okay, I swear. Just go.” Mark urges.

“Leave him be, Donghyuck. We don’t wanna be late for class, you know how psycho our homeroom teacher can get.” Jeno warns.

Donghyuck reluctantly nods his head and links his arm with Jeno’s as they start to walk away. He turns back to give Mark a brief apologetic smile before turning his attention back to Jeno who had just launched into what looked like a very dramatic story.

Mark sighs as he re-enters his house and stands in the foyer for a few minutes before exiting again. Despite the fact that he was already late he decides to take a slow walk to school in order to ensure that he won’t catch up to Donghyuck and Jeno.

Later that day in the cafeteria Mark is sitting by himself at his usual table that he sat at with Donghyuck and a few of their friends. Or rather _Donghyuck’s_ friends who were by extension now Mark’s friends too. Most of them were usually late due to the fact that their classroom was on the other side of the building so that usually meant that Mark and Donghyuck sat by themselves for the first ten minutes or so.

But today is different.

Mark scans around the room to see if he can spot Donghyuck anywhere but fails to. His eyes lock onto the table that Jeno usually sits at and notes that he isn’t there either. Mark grips his fork tighter as he thinks about what the two of them could be up to and how messed up it is that Donghyuck is now also ditching him at lunch time. Just as he’s about to angrily stab at his chicken strip, a panting Donghyuck suddenly appears by his side.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry I’m late. I just ran all the way here and I’m now realising that I need to start hitting the gym, holy shit.” Donghyuck huffs as he seats himself on the chair opposite to Mark’s.

“Where were you?” Mark spits out pettily.

“Talking to Jeno.”

“Of course.”

“Hey, it’s not like that. I was just telling him that he shouldn’t come over in the mornings like that. Walking to school is _our_ time. He gets to see me all day in class anyway whereas I only get to see you at lunch.”

“You didn’t have to do that. He is your almost-boyfriend after all.” Mark replies gloomily.

Donghyuck grabs Mark’s shoulder. “He may be my almost-boyfriend but you’re my always-best friend. I told you, friendships over relationships. No matter how serious I get with Jeno, you’ll always be my priority, okay?”

Mark musters the best smile that he can. “Okay.”

He knows that Donghyuck thought that he meant what he said but having an actual boyfriend was quite time-consuming and maybe he wouldn’t mean to but Mark could already predict that Donghyuck would be spending the majority of his time with Jeno now.

And there was nothing he could do about it.  
Mark’s hunch proved to be true in the weeks that followed. Jeno and Donghyuck had made their relationship official and were undoubtedly the most famous couple at their school.

In Donghyuck’s defence he genuinely did try to spend as much time with Mark as he could. They still walked together to school, ate lunch together (although it should be noted that Jeno had sacrificed eating at his own table and had now started eating with them) and chatted through the window before bed.

But the major difference was that in the past they would talk to each other every night, now it had been limited to twice or so a week since Donghyuck was now spending most of his evenings with Jeno.

Mark tries to convince himself that it’s okay because at least Donghyuck is happy but it’s hard to keep a positive attitude when he just misses his best friend so freaking much.

One night as Mark lay in his bed, catching up on some Netflix, he hears the familiar sound of a ball of paper hitting his window. He sighs, presses pause and shuffles his way to his window. After pushing the pane away from him he nearly gasps at the sight in front of him.

A puffy-eyed Donghyuck with tears drippling down his face.

“Hyuck?! Are you okay?” Mark asks, protective instincts kicking in.

“N-no.” Donghyuck sniffles while using his sweater paw to wipe the freshly-fallen tears from his face.

“What happened?” Mark demands.

“Jeno. H-he-”

“Did he try to hurt you?” Mark barks, fists curling into a ball.

“No. He dumped me!” Donghyuck sobs.

As much as Mark wants to revel in the fact that his best friend is single again the pain he feels while watching someone he cared about suffer is almost too much for him to bear.

“Oh my god, Hyuckie. I’m so sorry, he’s an idiot. I can’t believe he would do that, you’re amazing.”

“Clearly he doesn’t think so. He says that I’m too clingy and immature. Is that true Mark? Tell me the truth. You’re my best friend so you can’t lie to me.”

“Of course you’re clingy and immature.” Mark replies immediately.

“Oh.” Donghyuck says softly before burying his head into his paws. It’s a comfortable-looking jersey and it seemed like the kind of thing Mark would buy for himself and it _did_ actually seem to resemble something that he’d bought a few weeks back but he hasn’t seen it in a while so he can’t be sure.

“But Donghyuck, those are the best parts about you. You’re clingy because you care and you like to make sure that the other person feels loved. You’re immature because you’re a child at heart and even though you talk big, you’ve still got an innocent world view. Your qualities are what make you you and if Jeno doesn’t like those parts of you then I’m sorry but you’re better off without him.”

“You’re sweet for saying that stuff but the truth is that most people would find those kind of traits annoying. Jeno said that it took almost all of his energy just to tolerate me. What if I never meet a guy who would be willing to tolerate me? What if I never find love again?” Donghyuck complains anxiously.

“You will.” Mark replies confidently. “Somewhere out there, there’s a guy who won’t just tolerate your characteristics, he’ll actually find them kind of endearing. And he’s going to fall head over heels in love with you and he won’t be able to even go one second without thinking about you.”

Donghyuck gives Mark a doubtful look. “I don’t think a guy like that exists, Mark. The only person I’ve ever met who can tolerate me and my quirks is you. And it’s not like we can date since you’re straight so…”

Mark freezes. If there was ever an opportunity to come clean, it’s now.

“About that. I’m kind of not.”

“Not what?”

“You know, straight. I like boys too, Donghyuck.”

Tears start to well up in Donghyuck’s eyes. “Since when?”

Mark nervously fiddles with his thumbs. “I don’t know. Forever? I’ve never been interested in girls to begin with.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“I don’t know. I guess I didn’t want you to think that I was copying you or anything. And to be honest I was worried it might have made things awkward between us.”

“Why would things be awkward between us? I mean, it’s not like you have feelings for me. Right?” Donghyuck interrogates as he stares into Mark’s eyes intently.

“O-of course not.” Mark mentally slaps himself.

“Are you sure?” Donghyuck probes again.

“Pretty sure. We’re friends, remember? It would totally weird if we dated.” Mark awkwardly laughs.

“Yeah, no, totally. I’m just a little shocked I guess.” Donghyuck rubs the remaining tears off his face and quickly followed it up with, “Um, actually you know what? Today has been an incredibly emotional day so I think I’m just going to take a shower and go straight to bed. Goodnight, Mark.” Donghyuck immediately closes his window and disappears to the opposite side of his room without even waiting for Mark to reply.

Mark stands there for a few minutes, illuminated by moonlight, as he contemplates the events that had just transpired. A golden ticket had willingly presented itself right to his face and because he was too much of a coward to accept it, he threw it away.

He could have finally admitted to Donghyuck that he was in love with him but he simply just couldn’t bring himself to do it. The fear of losing Donghyuck was too strong. He wasn’t brave enough and now he may have lost his chance for good.

The days that followed were awkward to say in the least. They never spoke of Mark’s admission again and instead Donghyuck spent that time trying to get over Jeno while Mark spent his evenings replaying the events of that night over and over in his brain.

For some reason, Mark couldn’t help but feel like Donghyuck was disappointed in him for something but he simply couldn’t figure out for _what_. Was he mad that he kept his sexuality a secret? He explained why he didn’t tell him so how could he still be upset about that?

Whatever it was Mark knew that even if he asked Donghyuck about it directly he would never find out the answer. Donghyuck was pretty good at holding grudges and the only way to get him to move past the issue was to distract him. And sure enough, after few weeks, that distraction comes in the form of a wide-eyed Chinese exchange student named Huang Renjun.

Likewise to Donghyuck, Renjun had an interest in singing and as such the two grew very close very quickly. He was clearly a much better fit for Donghyuck than Jeno ever was which, of course, made Mark’s blood boil every time he saw them together.

Luckily for Mark though the universe throws him a bone.

A relative of Renjun’s had suddenly developed a serious illness that required Renjun to immediately move back to China. Donghyuck was devastated, of course, but in an act of déjà vu he moved on rather quickly.

It would seem that this would become a pattern in the months that followed. Donghyuck, constantly going on dates with new guys while Mark watches in silent anguish from the outside.

About a year had passed since the night Jeno dumped Donghyuck and Mark and Donghyuck had somewhat gone back to normal. They never spoke of Mark’s dating life - or rather his lack of one – again while Donghyuck continued to jump from relationship to relationship, none ever lasting longer than a month.

Currently Mark is waiting in Donghyuck’s room for the latter to come back upstairs with their snacks. It’s a very strange feeling to actually be _inside_ of Donghyuck’s room for a change as Mark is used to looking at it through his own bedroom window but today Donghyuck made an unusual request for Mark to physically come over and have movie night.

“I’ve got five packets of Doritos, some popcorn and a six-pack of ginger ale. You and I are never leaving this room.” Donghyuck loudly announces as he re-enters the room.

Mark stands up to help Donghyuck who was dangerously balancing said object in his arms.

“Be careful with those. If you were going to bring this much stuff up you should have asked me to come with you.”

“Nonsense, you’re my guest. And since I’m the host I get to decide on the movie we’re about to watch.”

“I swear to god Donghyuck if you make me watch The Devil Wears Prada again”-

“Hey, hey, hey. No bashing classics in my house. And for your information I was actually going to suggest that we watch the new Spiderman movie. But um, since you brought up The Devil Wears Prada…” Donghyuck innocently bats his eyelashes at Mark.

“I thought you hated all of this comic book stuff.”

“Well I know it’s your favourite franchise and you seem to forget that I’m an OG Spiderman fan too.”

“That’s true. You just haven’t spoken about it in a long time so I figured you outgrew it.”

“Okay fine, it’s not exactly my favourite thing in the world anymore but I know it always puts you in a good mood.”

Mark eyes Donghyuck suspiciously. “Why do you need me in a good mood?”

Donghyuck throws his hands up in the air defensively. “Who said anything about needing anything? Why can’t a bro just do something nice for his favourite bro?”

Mark winces at the word ‘bro’. He always hated it when Donghyuck called him that. “We’ve been friends for over nine years now. I’ve got a seventh sense that alerts me whenever Donghyuck is up to something.”

“What happened to the sixth..?”

“Donghyuck, what do you want?” Mark huffs impatiently.

Donghyuck sighs in resignation. “Fine. So you know how Jisung and I broke up a couple of weeks ago?”

Mark frowns. “I thought his name was Jaemin.”

“Keep up Canada! Jaemin has been dead to me for over four months now.” Donghyuck responds while clicking his fingers in front of Mark’s face.

Mark gently places Donghyuck’s hand down. “Okay, okay. Sorry I get confused sometimes. So what about Jisung now?”

“Right, so we broke up and remember how I was all like ‘Boys are dumb, I’m never dating again?’”

“You’re dating again?” Mark deadpans.

Donghyuck giggles shyly. “Kind of…maybe…yes.”

Mark sighs. At this point he’s gotten pretty used to Donghyuck’s erratic dating life. “Well I knew this was bound to happen. The only person you fooled when you made that declaration was yourself.”

“Hey, I really meant it at the time. I was trying super hard to focus on myself and do the whole single life crap thing but then I met this guy and we just clicked. It was like, the universe sent him down to earth just to meet me.”

Huh. That’s a new one. At this point, Mark has heard it all. He’d heard, “Mark, he could be the one~” or “Mark, he’s the perfect guy for me!” and the most famous was “Mark, this time I think it’s gonna last!” The whole sent down from the universe just to meet him thing was definitely something original and Mark can’t help but feel proud of Donghyuck for improving on his expressions.

“What’s his name?” Mark asks distractedly while shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

“Wong Yukhei.”

Mark nearly chokes. “Yukhei?! That fitness freak from my English class? Hyuck, he’s a total ass, he’s never not cheated on one of his boyfriends. You _have_ to break up with him, he’s going to stomp on your heart!”

“And Jisung didn’t? Or any of the ‘great guys’ I dated in the past didn’t? I know what I’m getting into and, yes, it’s dangerous but Yukhei gets me. He’s totally different from everyone else and I just feel like this time it’s gonna last!”

Mark rubs his forehead stressfully. “Donghyuck, please. I know I can’t tell you what to do but as your best friend it’s in my interest to advise you _not to do this_.”

“I appreciate your concern and normally I do take your advice seriously but I at least have to try you know? If this goes up in flames”-

“Which it will.” Mark adds sourly.

“-then I will only have myself to blame, okay?” Donghyuck raises his eyebrows expectantly as he awaits for Mark’s response.

Mark closes his eyes. Sometimes, but only _sometimes_ , Donghyuck could be really exhausting.

“Okay.”

“Good. So let’s just drop the subject now and move on with movie night. Deal?”

“Deal.” Mark mumbles. He knows better than to argue with Donghyuck once the younger had made up his mind. In their nine years of friendship Mark had always caved when it came to Donghyuck’s whims but there was something about this particular situation that makes Mark feel incredibly uneasy and he could only hope that Donghyuck was going to come out of this unscathed.

The days that followed played through Mark’s eyes like stills from a horror movie. He watched in despair as the greasiest man alive wooed the boy he’d been in love with for over half his life. Sure, Yukhei was a gentleman now but Mark knew a wolf when he saw one. He knew that there was poison hidden behind those sugar-coated words of his and it _killed_ him to see that Donghyuck was too naïve to notice it.

A few weeks later as Mark sits in the cafeteria, idly poking at his salad, he’s suddenly disturbed by the sound of a loud thud. He looks up and realises that it was the sound of a very passionate Donghyuck slamming his tray of food onto the table.

“Guess what?” Donghyuck demands, his whole body shaking with excitement.

“What?”

“No, you didn’t guess!”

“The government has decided to make it mandatory for all schools nationwide to cut their days in half?” Mark suggests half-heartedly.

Donghyuck rolls his eyes. “Something _realistic_ , please.”

“I don’t know, just tell me.” Mark begs desperately. He knew that if he didn’t intervene then Donghyuck would make them play this game for hours.

“Ugh, fine. You know that legendary party that Kim Yerim throws every year when her parents go on their annual vacation?” Donghyuck asked as he not-so-sneakily steals a chicken nugget from Mark’s tray.

“You mean that ultra-exclusive party that only those at the very peak of the social ladder get invited to? I’m aware of it.”

“Exactly. Well that ‘ultra-exclusive’ list of invitees now includes me. Yukhei managed to sweet talk Yerim during one of their gym classes and now Yukhei and I will officially be attending the social event of the year. Rumour has it that she’s planning it to be the biggest one she’s thrown yet and there might even be a secret performer!” Donghyuck gushes.

“Woah, that’s actually quite impressive.” Mark lies as he tries to feign interest.

“Uh-huh. Yukhei mentioned that he could probably score you an invite too if you wanted but I thought I should mention it to you first since I know how you feel about parties.”

“Yeah, you know that parties aren’t really my thing at _all_ so you should just go without me and enjoy yourself. You know that if I was there you would just be worried about wallflower-me all night anyway. But hey, just be careful with Yukhei, okay? There’s probably going to be some underage drinking there so you might want to keep your guard up.”

Donghyuck sighs exasperatedly. “Come on Mark. It’s been like almost a month now and Yukhei has been nothing but good to me. You’re already denying me the chance of being with my soulmate so why can’t you at least let me have this?”

“Wait, are you trying to say Yukhei is your _soulmate_?!” Mark asks, utterly stunned.

Donghyuck widens his eyes in panic. “Shit, did I say soulmate out loud? So what I meant by that was, um, well he could be my soulmate you know? And I’ll never know if you keep ragging on him like this. You’re my best friend in the entire world and your opinion means _everything_ to me so it would really be nice if you could just get on board with this already.”

Mark frowns. He feels bad for putting Donghyuck in a difficult position but no matter how hard he tried he would never be able to trust Yukhei. He’d heard way too many bad stories about Yukhei and he’d damned if he just sat back and allowed Donghyuck to be the next chapter.

Still, Donghyuck’s happiness was important to him too so it seemed like the best option was to let Donghyuck _think_ that he was cool with Yukhei but in reality he would always have his guard up around the latter.

“Fine. I won’t say anything bad about Yukhei anymore. But if you ever need me for anything, and I mean _anything_ on Friday, you call me and I’ll come to you so fast even The Flash won’t have time to blink.” Mark tries to make his tone sound as stern as possible. Superhero reference aside, he needs Donghyuck to understand how serious he was.

Donghyuck rolls his eyes and throws one of his French fries at Mark’s shoulder. “Okay, _Mom_.”

Mark internally shudders. He didn’t think that there was anything worse than being called bro.

He thought wrong.

Friday evening eventually comes around and Mark finds himself lying on his bed, re-reading of his old comic books. From the corner of his eye he can see the Donghyuck getting ready for the party through the window.

As frustrated as he is at the situation, he can’t deny the fact that his heart nearly skipped a beat when he saw Donghyuck admiring himself in the mirror while wearing his new outfit and perfectly styled hair and even though Mark couldn’t see it very clearly from this distance he could have sworn he saw Donghyuck apply some eyeliner and he knew first-hand how powerful Donghyuck was when he wore eye makeup.

Right in the middle of his ogling session, the sudden sound of his doorbell nearly causes Mark to fall out of his bed. He groans in annoyance and hurriedly makes his way to the door.

 _Who would be ringing his doorbell on a Friday evening?_ He wonders with a scowl on his face.

When he finally reaches his destination, Mark widely swings open the door to reveal the last person on earth he wanted to see.

Wong Yukhei. 

Mark instantly feels every last fibre of his body light up with fury and jealousy. What the hell is this, admittedly gorgeous, son of a bitch doing at his front door?

“Yukhei.” Mark states icily.

Yukhei scrunches his face in confusion. “Nerdy dude from my English class? You’re not Donghyuck!”

Mark sighs exasperatedly. “My name is Mark and I’m your boyfriend’s best friend. He lives next door by the way. Haven’t you guys been going out for like a month? How do you not even know where he lives?”

“Hey, don’t bash! All of these houses are so freaking close to each other, it’s not my fault I got confused. You’re kind of mean, you know that? To think I almost risked my reputation trying to score you an invite to the party tonight.” Yukhei pouts.

“Reputation?” Mark scoffs. “The whole school is aware of your ‘reputation’, Yukhei. You’re a liar and a cheat and it won’t be long ‘til Donghyuck finds someone way better and dumps your sorry ass!”

“You mean someone like you?” Yukhei smirks mischievously.

Mark feels his face flush. “Wha- no! You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Oh please. You couldn’t be more obvious. Anyone with a set of working eyes can see how bad you’ve got it for your cute neighbour. Well everyone except for said neighbour I suppose. And that’s only because he’ll only ever see you as his dorky best friend, nothing more. You’re lucky you managed to even get that far because let me tell you something: Popular guys like Donghyuck and I never spare lonely spectacle-wearing geeks like you a second glance. Be grateful for the time you had with Donghyuck so far because after tonight you’ll be nothing but a faint memory in his mind.”

Mark harshly narrows his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I’m going to bang your boo so hard tonight that he won’t even be able to remember his own name, let alone your pathetic face.”

Mark clenches his fists so tightly, he nearly draws blood. “Don’t you _dare_ talk about Donghyuck like that. He would never tarnish himself by doing something that intimate with someone as vile as you.”

“Oh really? Cause that’s not what he said this morning when I asked him if I could catch a ride to Booty Town after the party. That’s right, bitch. I’m all about that hashtag consent.”

Mark is stunned. Donghyuck really agreed to give Yukhei his virginity? If it was Donghyuck’s choice then he had no right to criticise it but he couldn’t help but feel like Donghyuck was about to make a huge mistake.

“What’s wrong, skinny boy? No comeback?” Yukhei taunts childishly.

Mark clears his thoughts. The idea of Donghyuck actually doing it with someone else, especially someone like Yukhei, is making him nauseous.

“Okay, first off, ‘skinny boy’ is a pretty ironic insult for you of all people to be throwing out there. Secondly, don’t even get me _started_ on people who verbally say the word hashtag in real life”-

“Yukhei? I’m over here! That’s Mark’s house, you silly!”

Mark and Yukhei simultaneously turn their heads to see Donghyuck standing at the edge of his driveway, enthusiastically waving his hands in the air. Mark sucks in a sharp breath. He knew that Donghyuck looked stunning from the view from his bedroom but it doesn’t even compare to seeing the real thing up close. Just before Mark could compliment Donghyuck on his outfit though Yukhei lets out a wolf whistle.

“Babe! You look _hot_.” He yells as he sprints at full-speed towards Donghyuck.

Mark frowns. Yukhei’s vocabulary is disappointingly lacking. Mark can think of a thousand different ways to describe how attractive and _exquisite_ Donghyuck looks today but unfortunately he was unable to physically get the words out.

Especially not now when Yukhei had his tongue shoved so far into Donghyuck’s mouth it honestly looked like he was licking the inside of his throat.

“Mmph, Yukhei!” Donghyuck mumbles as he lightly shoves Yukhei away from him. “We’re in public, control yourself.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. You just look so fucking good with that makeup.” Yukhei replies, smirking in Mark’s direction.

“Well thank you. I worked very hard on it. Now go wait in the car, I have to say goodbye to Mark.” Donghyuck orders firmly.

Yukhei nods and makes sure to wink at Mark before he gets into the driver’s seat of his car.

“You look incredible.” Mark whispers with awe in his voice as Donghyuck makes his way towards him.

Donghyuck smiles fondly and pulls Mark into a bear hug. “Thank you. I know you genuinely mean it.”

Mark settles himself comfortably into Donghyuck’s arms and releases a sigh of relief. Donghyuck truly gave the best hugs in the word and it was moments like these that made Mark temporarily forget about everything wrong with his life and instead bask in the glorious scent that is Donghyuck, a scent that reminds him of familiarity and home.

Unfortunately for Mark, moments like these were fleeting. Donghyuck eventually lets go and pinches his ear playfully.

“I have to get going, my date’s probably getting impatient.”

Mark reluctantly nods and grabbed onto Donghyuck’s arm. “Hyuck, I have no right to tell you what you can and can’t do with your body but just remember that you’re still a teenager. You might think you’ll never find love but I promise you, there’s someone in this world who loves you more than you’ll ever know. Just please, be careful.”

Donghyuck stares at Mark with an unreadable expression on his face for what feels like an eternity when they’re both suddenly brought back to reality by the sound of Yukhei’s car horn honking. Donghyuck quickly blinks and smooths down the wrinkles on his jacket.

“Right. Um, I have to go. I’ll, uh, check to see if you’re awake when I’m back?”

“Please do. I’ll wait for you.”

Donghyuck smiles melancholically at Mark as he walks towards Yukhei’s car. Mark watches in defeat as the love of his life gets into the passenger seat of another man’s car and gives them a lifeless wave as Yukhei speeds off into the distance. He waits until the car is well out of sight before lethargically walking back into his house and flopping down face first onto his bed.

An hour goes by and no matter how hard Mark tries, he simply just cannot get Donghyuck out of his mind.

It’s not like Donghyuck is a princess locked in tower who needed saving, he reasons to himself. Donghyuck is completely capable of taking care of himself and if he _really_ was in an emergency he knew that he could call him and Mark would drop everything to be there for him in a heartbeat so there was really no reason to be upset.

But that being said Mark still finds himself scrolling through his phone to find a certain contact. Once he finds what he was searching for, his thumb nervously hovers above the call button for a couple of seconds and before he can change his mind, he impulsively presses it. He sits on his bed and shakes his legs anxiously as he waits for the other side to pick up. Just a few milliseconds before he reaches the voicemail tone, he suddenly hears a familiar voice.

“Hello?”

Mark immediately straightens up and clears his throat. “Wendy, hi. It’s Mark Lee. I don’t know if you remember me but our parents used to carpool together? We, uh, went to the same flute teacher.”

“Oh, hey~ Yes of course I remember you my fellow Canadian! Wasn’t expecting a call from you tonight!” Wendy giggles loudly, slightly slurring her words.

Mark winces at the volume of her voice. He guesses it has something to do with the deafening EDM music roaring in the background.

“I know. Actually I kind of have a favour to ask you, that’s why I’m calling.”

“Sorry, Mark I’m at a party, I can’t hear you. You said something about a favour?” Wendy shouts over the phone.

“Yes, a favour. I know you’re close to Yerim and I’m assuming that you’re at her party right now. I was wondering if there was any way you could get me inside?” Mark feels awkward raising his voice considering how empty and still his house is.

“Oh sure! Just come through the back and I’ll let you in! I’ve been sneaking in people all night long, Yerim’s so picky when it comes to inviting people to this thing but I’m looking at her right now and there’s no way she’s going to remember any of this tomorrow so you’ll be fine.”

Mark lets out a sigh of relief. “Thanks Wendy, I really owe you one. I’ll probably be half an hour. I’ll text you when I’m there.”

“Not a problem. Hey, who said it was okay to start doing jello shots without me”-

Mark smiles and shakes his head as he cuts the call. Okay, time to think about what he’s about to do. Is he seriously about to crash the biggest party of the year just to stop Donghyuck from sleeping with Yukhei? It seems so petty and jealous and not to mention stalkerish? He’s not Donghyuck’s boyfriend or anything and Donghyuck has every right to sleep with Yukhei if that is his _own_ choice but Mark isn’t really thinking about the consequences of his actions at the moment, all he knows is that he wants to see Donghyuck _right now_.

As he anxiously paces his room, he briefly makes eye-contact with the Batman plushie that sat on his bed. Donghyuck had won it for him at Disneyland when they were younger and even though Mark wasn’t a plushie kind of guy, he’d kept it on his bed every day since. It reminded Mark of Donghyuck every time he saw it and also of just how much they’d been through together.

 _Nine long years of friendship_.

Mark pauses as something obvious dawns on him. Mark knows that Donghyuck loves him, that was never the question, but he had always been so afraid of Donghyuck’s feelings being platonic that he never stopped to realise that Donghyuck would never cast him out of his life so easily. Even if Donghyuck were to reject his confession, they would find a way to make their friendship work because that’s what best friends do.

Mark thinks back to the first day he met Donghyuck. He was eight and his memories of that time period were foggy to say in the least but the moment that stuck with him the most were the parting words Donghyuck had said to him.

_“Be brave, Mark Lee! You can always believe in me, I promise. I’ll never let you down.”_

Mark knows what he has to do.

He quickly changes into what he considered to be his most fashionable outfit and excitedly laces up his ‘going-out’ sneakers that he’s only worn a few times before. He briefly checks himself out in the mirror before grabbing his car keys and sprinting down the stairs. He pauses for a minute at the front door to slightly catch his breath before swing it open and for the second time that day, being shocked at who was there waiting for him.

“Hyuck?” Mark asks with a baffled expression on his face.

Donghyuck shyly scratches the back of his head. “Oh, hey. I was just about to knock.”

“What are you doing here?” Mark questions disbelievingly.

“To be honest, I don’t actually know. I stood here for a couple of minutes thinking about what I was going to say to you but truthfully, I-I just wanted to see you.” Donghyuck drops his eyes down towards his feet, refusing to meet Mark’s gaze.

Mark’s jaw nearly drops. How is it possible for Donghyuck to have been feeling the exact way that he was feeling? Is it a sign?

“Oh. Do you want to come in then?”

Donghyuck nods and waits for Mark to step aside before nearly tripping over his feet as he enters the house. Luckily Mark manages to catch him at the last second and places a firm hand on his shoulder as he leads the younger towards to the living room.

“Where’s Yukhei?” Mark immediately asks after they both sit down.

“Probably still at the party.”

Mark stares into his lap and swallows. “Did you guys..?”

“Break up? Yeah.” Donghyuck answers nonchalantly while inspecting his fingernails.

Mark whips his head up to gape at Donghyuck in shock. “What happened? I thought you guys were hitting it off?”

Donghyuck casually shrugs his shoulders and leans back into the couch. “He wasn’t the ‘one’. None of them were.”

“Them?”

“You know, pretty much any guy I’ve ever dated. You want to know what the craziest part is? None of them are even at fault, I am. Alright, I’ll admit I went out with a couple of bad eggs here and there but honestly? Most of my relationships never work out because I never let them. Either I dump them or I chicken out and act all crazy until it gets to the point where _they_ have to dump _me_. Whenever I would get into a new relationship I would always think to myself, ‘Maybe he’s the one’. But he never was. Because you only get one ‘one’ and _my_ ‘one’ well…”

“Have you been drinking?” Mark asks with furrowed eyebrows.

“Lord knows I wouldn’t be here telling you all of this if I hadn’t.” Donghyuck scoffs.

Mark quickly gets up. “Okay. Time to get to bed then. My parents are vising my brother at college for the weekend so you can sleep here tonight”-

“No!” Donghyuck suddenly yells, nearly causing Mark to jump.

“Well, okay then. I’ll walk you home then and tuck you into bed.” Mark counter-offers, patience wearing thin.

“That’s not what I want either.” Donghyuck replies stubbornly.

“Then what do you want?” Mark asks, frustration seeping through his words.  
Donghyuck stares at Mark for a few seconds, seemingly deliberating something, before suddenly lunging up from his seat towards Mark, grabbing his face and then kissing him like he was drowning and Mark was his only source of oxygen.

For nine years, Mark had been dreaming of this moment. He’d imagined it thousands of times and he’d come up with dozens of guesses of what Donghyuck would taste like. Chocolate, mint, vanilla or maybe even that one type of Americano that he drank all the time.

The reality was alcohol mixed with something fruity. Of course Donghyuck would be a cocktail guy.

Mark hadn’t even realised that he was kissing Donghyuck back with equal fervour and passion until Donghyuck moans and places his hands into the back pockets of Mark’s jeans and gives his ass a gentle squeeze.

Suddenly, Mark remembers where he is and the magnitude of their situation.

He slowly removes his mouth from Donghyuck’s, eliciting a sound of protest from the other boy. Mark chuckles as he notices the cute pout that forms on Donghyuck’s face and gently rests his forehead against the younger’s.

“Donghyuck.” He softly breathes out.

“Mark.” Donghyuck responds, wrapping his arms around Mark’s neck.

They both stand in each other’s embrace for several minutes, heavily breathing after their intense make out session. Neither one of them know what to say but the silence between them is still a comfortable one.

“Were you going somewhere? You’re wearing your fancy shoes and it’s not like you to wear your contacts in the house.” Donghyuck asks, burying his face into Mark’s chest.

Mark laughs. “Yeah. I was going to that damn party.”

Donghyuck quickly brings his head up. “Really? Why?”

“I wanted to stop you from hooking up with Yukhei.” Mark admits with a sheepish grin.

Donghyuck opens his mouth but then closes it again. Eventually after a few moments he finally says, “I didn’t think you were going to kiss me back.”

“Well I didn’t think you were going to kiss me at all.” Mark retorts.

“Why wouldn’t I have? Was I not obvious about the whole being in love with you thing?” Donghyuck questions innocently.

Mark blinks. “Y-you’re in love with me?”

“Are you kidding? Why do I think I’m constantly throwing myself all over you? Not to mention the fact that I spend more time with you than I do with my actual family.” Donghyuck states as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“But I thought since we’re friends, we can’t date?”

“Um, everybody knows that dating your best friend is like winning the jackpot. I’ve been obsessed with you my whole life. In my defence, I spent a great chunk of that time thinking that you were straight since you never mentioned anything about being interested in boys. It sucked but I knew I had to try and move on with my life but imagine my surprise when one day, out of nowhere, you suddenly blurt out that you’re gayer than Elton John”-

“Those weren’t my words.” Mark interrupts.

“-which could only mean one thing in my mind. You weren’t romantically interested in me. Because if you were straight then it was one thing but if you were _gay_ and still hadn’t confessed to me by then, well...”

“I-I never thought about it that way. I mean I was just so nervous that you were going to be weirded out and not want to talk to me again. I couldn’t take that chance so I settled for just being friends.” Mark looks down at his shoes in embarrassment.

Donghyuck shakes his head. “You’re an idiot. A real idiot. This whole time we could have been dating and I wouldn’t have had to waste my time with all those clowns. To think I could have had the real deal but of course you had to go and be so damn thick-headed.”

Mark feels the guilt bubbling up in his chest. “I’m sorry, Hyuck. I should have been brave like you told me to. It’s insane but it only occurred to me tonight that even if you didn’t return my feelings, it’s not like you would have stopped being friends with me. I’m sorry I didn’t believe in you.”

“You’re damn right you’re sorry. What kind of person did you think I was? That I would really stop talking to you just like that? After _nine fucking years_. You’re just so freaking dumb that it makes my head spin and my heart race and it’s just not even remotely fucking logical for me to find all of your blunders endearing and yet I somehow still do.”

Mark opens his mouth to say something but Donghyuck slams his finger over his lips to shut him up and continues. “Whenever I see you I think to myself, _why_ , why am I in love with someone who’s so beyond clueless when it comes to social interactions? Someone who can name every single Pokémon from each generation but still thinks that Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Lawrence are the same person? You’re just the complete opposite of me and we shouldn’t work but somehow we’ve done the impossible for the better part of a decade and even after everything that we’ve been through, I still want more. Mark Lee, what type of black magic have you cursed me with? To make my knees tremble whenever you look at me with those god-awful black-rimmed glasses you insist on wearing? To make me actually feel _disappointed_ to see you not wearing them tonight?”

Mark smiles and gently removes Donghyuck’s hand from his mouth. “I could ask you the same thing. There’s nothing about this, about _us_ that makes any logical sense but here we are. Donghyuck, I know this is nine years too late but here I go anyway. I love you, I’ve always loved you and I want us to be more than friends. Will you be my boyfriend?”

Donghyuck’s eyes begin to water as he enthusiastically nods his head and mouths the word idiot. He then pulls Mark forward for another kiss. It isn’t as passionate as their first one but it’s much sweeter and meaningful now that they were both aware of each other’s feelings.

Despite not being experienced with each other, their lips just seemed to move together in a manner that makes Mark think that his mouth was created for the sole purpose of kissing Donghyuck.

Mark uses his hands to cup Donghyuck’s cheeks which causes the younger to grin into their kiss and tighten his hold on Mark’s waist, bringing their bodies even closer. After a minute or so Mark pulls back to catch his breath while Donghyuck watches him with affection.

“Hey, what made you decide to kiss me today after all this time?” Mark suddenly asks while softly nuzzling his head into Donghyuck’s shoulder.

“I might have overheard your conversation with Yukhei earlier on.” Donghyuck admits shyly.

Mark turns his head to look at Donghyuck in surprise. “Really? How much of it did you hear?”

“Pretty much most of it. You’re not as slick as you think you are by the way. I could see you _blatantly_ staring at me through your window as I got dressed so I noticed it when you suddenly ran downstairs. I decided to sneak down myself and see what was going on and that’s when I heard Yukhei say something about how everyone knew that you were in love with me. At first I thought he was just petty but then I saw your face after he said that and that’s when a part of me just knew. The other rational part of me said it was impossible but then I came here an-and you actually kissed me back.”

Mark instantly feels his face flush and awkwardly laughs. “If you only knew how long I’d waiting for that to happen.”

“I know, I can’t believe it.” Donghyuck whispers in amazement. “I guess it’s a soulmate thing.”

Mark hums in agreement and softly pecks Donghyuck’s lips again before gently peppering his jaw with light kisses, moving his way up the younger boy’s jawline towards his earlobe. Donghyuck giggles and tilts his head back in order to give Mark more access.

“Do you want to know what I feel like doing right now?” Mark’s lowers his voice to a dark level that Donghyuck had never heard him use before, causing his body to shiver.

“What?”

“I wanna take you upstairs to my bedroom so that you and I can…” Mark pauses for dramatic effect which makes Donghyuck stop to take a sharp intake of air.

 _“Get our Meryl Streep on.”_ Mark finishes with a smug grin on his face. 

“Really?!” Donghyuck squeals while clapping his hands eagerly.

Mark smiles fondly at Donghyuck’s child-like excitement. “Really. And since I’m agreeing to watch ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ with you for what is _probably_ the hundredth time then I’m sure you won’t mind if we watch a little ‘Dr Strange’ afterwards, right?”

Mark was expecting some whining and reluctance at his suggestion but he _certainly_ didn’t expect for Donghyuck to suddenly start laughing.

“What? What’s so funny?” Mark pouts.

“Nothing, we can watch your movie too. I’m still a little buzzed, that’s all.” Donghyuck pauses and then changes his mind. “Okay, actually I was thinking about how insane it is that almost nothing’s changed between us.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Mark instantly panics. He’d never had a boyfriend before so he isn’t sure about what the right protocol is. He can’t believe that he already made a mistake five minutes into their relationship.

“No, no, no!” Donghyuck quickly denies. “This is perfect. It’s what I want. I never had this level of comfort with _any_ of those other guys. This is you and I we’re talking about. I think, no, I _know_ that this time it’s going to last.”

Mark slumps his shoulders and relaxes. He then beams at Donghyuck as he pulls his hand to begin their trek to his bedroom.

“Do you want to know why?” Donghyuck breathes out excitedly as they made their way up the stairs.

“Why?” Mark asks, giving Donghyuck’s hand a tight squeeze.

“Because you’re the one.”


End file.
